While Milan Collins is listed as an athlete in most of the recruiting databases, he is drastically different from the last athlete profiled here in the “Meet the Recruit” series, DeAndre Lane. Lane is a guy who can play RB, WR, and CB. Collins can play QB and S. He will play safety for the Terps.

Collins was a fairly well sought-after recruit, receiving offers from West Virginia, N.C. State, and Rutgers, amongst others. As a quarterback, he has a very strong arm. The reason he won’t play quarterback for the Terps is a combination of his inaccurate arm, and his very good ability to play safety. Collins says he models his game around future Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed. He also says that Randy Edsall and his staff want him to play that type of role for the Terps. He will have the ability to roam the field making plays in the Terps’ defensive backfield, creating turnovers and wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks.

Collins will also have the ability to play immediately. Terps free safety Eric Franklin is gone due to graduation, and someone will have to fill his spot. There are a few players who can fill that void: Sean Davis, Anthony Nixon, A.J. Hendy, and Milan Collins. If Collins impresses the coaches in preseason camp, he could play immediately as opposed to being redshirted.

Another interesting tidbit about Collins is what he has been doing for the Terps on the recruiting trail lately. While playing in the Chesapeake Bowl in December, he began recruiting 4-star linebacker Yannick Ngakoue. Ngakoue de-commited from Maryland in September for unknown reasons. Maryland is still in the running for the talented linebacker, but they are competing with South Carolina and Florida State. Hopefully Collins can help out Randy Edsall and staff with their second pursuit of Ngakoue. If so, Collins could have a future as a recruiter after he is done with his football career.

Zack Kiesel

Zack is working towards a career in law and politics. The Owings Mills native focuses most of his efforts on Maryland Football recruiting and individual coach and player pieces; but also covers Terps Basketball. He has established relationships with Big Ten beat reporters across the conference, which he utilizes in his game previews. Now a Sr. Terps Analyst for BSL, Zack can be reached at: zack.kiesel@baltimoresportsandlife.com.